Hall rebate not enough — OUSA

A $120 WEEKLY rebate to help University of Otago students get by until they can return to halls of residence is appreciated but student associations say more is needed to address hardship.

Otago University Students’ Association president Jack Manning said many students had lost parttime work and it had had a significant increase in requests for hardship support.

‘‘Covid19 has exposed and exacerbated student hardship,’’ he said.

The union had met the university to discuss residential college fees during the lockdown.

New Zealand universities structure their residential fees in different ways and there has been some angst nationally about students paying for rooms they cannot access.

That led to an outcry at Victoria University of Wellington.

Otago’s halls have remained open, but many students went home before the lockdown began.

The usual cost at University of Otago colleges is about $400 a week, although it varies depending on the college.

About a third of the university’s residents have remained in the facilities during the lockdown.

New Zealand University Students’ Association president Isabella LenihanIkin said the situation varied across the country.

A meeting was held yesterday to coordinate student responses to the issue.

‘‘Any student at this time is in a tough position,’’ she said.

The association would prefer it if students paid no fees for their rooms in the period during which they could not return.

The University of Otago has said the $120 rebate would continue to be paid until students could return to their colleges. The rate represented its best estimate as to the savings being made while students were away. Most of that was foodrelated. The savings were estimated at $80 to $90 a week and students received $30 to $40 on top of that.